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Familiar Evil is a book by Rannah Gray about the international search for television personality Scott Rogers that revealed his dark side as a child predator. The story takes place in the U.K. and in the United States.

NEWS

"In her highly crafted and revealing expose' of the unmasking of a sexual predator, Gray plunges the reader into an investigation that rivals any true crime tale on the market today."

"Gray's writing skills are superb, and her passion for her subject is obvious.

The first national book review of Familiar Evil will be published in the September US Review of Books on its list of Recommended Reading. The US Review is a trusted source and top 25 Google search for book reviews. We are honored and excited to share John E. Roper's review in its entirety with you!

U.S. Review of Books - review by John E. Roper:

Scott Rogers had an uncanny ability to get people to like and believe in him. In England, parents entrusted their children to him, not simply in the role of students at his performing arts academy but also as houseguests for sleepovers. In the United States, he cast his spell on members of his flock at the church he established with himself as pastor. Government officials and representatives from local and federal law enforcement agencies also succumbed to his influence. As the host of a local cable TV show, Rogers even managed to charm many of the residents of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that he had never met personally. Of course, no celebrity is popular with everyone, and there were some who recognized the manipulation that lurked beneath his public persona. The author was one of these individuals who saw this and also sensed there was something else not quite right about the man. But it wasn't until she received a disturbing email from an unknown correspondent in England that she began to see just how dangerous Rogers was.

According to the book, Rogers began sexually abusing some of his young male students during his early days at his academy in England. Eventually, he was found out and brought to trial, but a hung jury resulted in him avoiding punishment for his crimes. Despite the horrifying nature of his abuse which included rape and torture, some of his victims still clung to him and even ran away from their families in order to accompany him to America. Others, though, managed to escape his physical clutches but still battled the emotional ones for years to come. One such survivor was "Ethan," a man who found Gray's editorial during an Internet search for Rogers two years after it was written.

In her highly-crafted and revealing exposè of the unmasking of a sexual predator, Gray plunges the reader into an investigation that rivals any true crime tale on the market today. What gives the story added interest is the fact that the author is not just reporting on the case as an outside observer but was actually a key figure in it. If Rogers hadn't tried to cheat Gray's company out of fees for its services and deliberately attempted to hurt her reputation, the author would have never had cause to write an editorial in defense that mentioned his name. After "Ethan" contacted her, she showed his email to criminal defense attorney Nathan Fisher. Paralegal Mary Jane Marcantel was soon recruited, and together the foursome contributed to the eventual downfall of the charismatic criminal.

Gray's writing skills are superb, and her passion for her subject is obvious. Her technique of not telling her tale in strict chronological order ironically adds to the fast pace of the story rather than detracting from it as one might suppose. Her inclusion of emails from "Ethan" along with firsthand accounts from some of Rogers' other victims also give her book added depth and enhance its emotional impact. Poignant and powerful, Gray's book points out how easy it can be for monsters to hide among us.

The Lisburn Press has announced that Familiar Evil has won two more book awards, bringing the total to ten, including six Gold Medals for Best True Crime, Best New Nonfiction and Best Narrative Nonfiction.

Familiar Evil was named the 2017 Winner of the Best True Crime category by The Independent Press Award. This juried competition received worldwide participation with only one winner named per category. The Independent Press Awards are judged on overall excellence by a jury of experts from all aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters.

It was also a Finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award which honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting freethinking writers and independent books of exceptional merit. Since its inception, the Hoffer has become one of the largest international book awards for small, academic, and independent presses. Results are published in the U.S. Review of Books.

Familiar Evil won the USA Best Book Award for Best New Nonfiction and was the Finalist for Best True Crime for 2016. This brings the total book awards to eight national and international honors, including five Gold Medals for first place wins.

Groups interested in Rannah Gray as a program speaker may contact us at info@familiarevil.com.

Christ in the City, a local ecumenical non-profit organization, will host a community discussion on Sunday, October 9th on the book, Familiar Evil, the winner of six national and international book awards including four Gold Medals, written by Baton Rouge author Rannah Gray.

The panel discussion will be held at 3:00 p.m. at the Lamar Tennis Center at the Paula Manship YMCA, 8100 YMCA Plaza Drive in Baton Rouge.

Familiar Evil, published by The Lisburn Press, follows the international search for local television personality Scott Rogers that revealed his dark past as a dangerous child predator. A young British man called “Ethan” in the book, contacted Gray in 2013 with information about Rogers’ past in England, urging her to warn others that Rogers was dangerous. “Ethan” and Gray ultimately became confidential informants in an international investigation that ended when Rogers and one of his longtime victims carried out a murder-suicide that sent shockwaves from Louisiana to London.

Gray will lead the panel, joined by Mary Jane Marcantel, a key figure in the investigation who collaborated on the book, local social worker Leslie Todd, LCSW-BACS, who provided insight into the characteristics and actions of child predators, and Kathleen Richey, former juvenile court judge and current President/CEO of LouisianaChildren.org, the state’s umbrella association of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Children’s Advocacy Centers (CAC) of Louisiana.

Since the book was published in late 2015, Gray has spoken throughout the country at Children’s Advocacy Centers, CASA and law enforcement training programs, continuing education classes for social workers, and adult Sunday School classes in addition to serving as a panelist at national writers’ conferences to share the true story behind Familiar Evil.

“We believe the threats described in Familiar Evil are, in part, moral and spiritual vacuums,” said Rev. Melville. “It’s important for this subject to be discussed in ways that can inform, educate and heal. We believe this powerful true story can show others how we can all protect children from the dangers they increasingly face in modern-day America.”

“I’m very proud of the honors the book has received because it has allowed this story to reach people all over the world with the message that this is a subject we must learn to talk about,” said Gray. “There were many people in our own community fooled by Scott Rogers, and we can learn from that. But the young survivors of abuse I met in England are the most inspirational people I’ve ever met. The way we can protect children is to have conversations like this that help people understand how predators operate.”

The book discussion is recommended for all adults and is free and open to the public. A short video showing scenes from England with excerpts from interviews with British survivors will be shown and a book signing will be held after the talk with books available for sale or you may bring your own copy.

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Christ in the City is an ecumenical non-profit organization dedicated to connecting the many beautiful spiritual dots in our city, promoting love, peace and neighborliness.

Familiar Evil was published by The Lisburn Press and is available in Baton Rouge at Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million and Cottonwood Books. It is available internationally in all eBook formats through Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and iBooks by Apple.

Familiar Evil has won the following National and International Book Awards:

Familiar Evil by Louisiana author Rannah Gray, published by The Lisburn Press, is a 2016 Gold Medal winner in the Independent Publishers Book Awards, receiving first place honors in the True Crime division.

Publishers from the United States, Canada and English-speaking countries throughout the world submit entries each year in the awards competition. The Independent Publishers Awards, known as the IPPY Awards, are presented at Book Expo America, the largest publishing event in North America.

The 20th Annual IPPY Awards Ceremony will be held on May 10th in Chicago.

Familiar Evil tells the story of one man’s international search for TV personality Scott Rogers which exposed his dark side as a child predator. It was written in collaboration with Mary Jane Marcantel, a key figure in the investigation into Rogers’ activities, and the British survivor known as Ethan.

Signed copies of Familiar Evil are now on sale at the Topisaw General Store, 105 Main Street in McComb, MS. The Enterprise-Journal, the daily newspaper serving Pike County, featured a front page article on Familiar Evil in its February 15th edition, available to subscribers at www.enterprise-journal.com, titled, "Pike Native Helps Track Abuser, Writes Book."

Below are some of the readers' reviews of Familiar Evil posted on Amazon. If you have read the book, please remember to post your comments for others to read!

Familiar Evil is a captivating read written by one of the people who helped expose a pedophile predator who masqueraded as an upstanding citizen of Baton Rouge. The number of prominent people who were fooled by Scott Rogers is totally amazing. This should be lesson to us all.

This book is so juicy! I can't put it down. I have never read a book this big before "Familiar Evil". EVER! But this book is so good that it feels the smallest of books. I am actually getting sad the thought that I am almost done since it has been my companion for the last 2 weeks everywhere I went. I would take it with me to work all the time, knowing it was there for me just in case I wanted to hide a read more pages. I'm I never got caught. The story of this book is very real and very sad. I, myself, am a victim of sexual abuse when I was very young. It is very easy to read because of the short chapters and very well written. I hope this book gets picked up for a movie or even a short series format. Congratulations to Rannah Gray for bringing this story forward and your persistence in getting all the facts right. I will buy more copies so I can send to all my friends and family.

When I heard this book was being written I could not wait to get my hands on it. I didn't know everything that happened and I wanted more details. I could not believe I knew some of the people duped by Scott Rogers in this thriller. My daughter worked at The Silver Sun during this time and she was directly affected financially. I couldn't understand how a fellow from the UK had a show on tv early Sunday mornings! It's quite a page turner and it's so hard to believe we local people knew who most of those who are in her book. Scott Rogers was evil and Rannah made sure she did the right thing and kept him from hurting other children. It started by writing one letter to the editor and naming Scott Rogers. The rest is history... Excellent read, and I highly recommend it!

I am going through another one of my "true crime" phases, and Familiar Evil is one of the best I've come across. Rannah Gray is an incredible story teller, with uncommon insight and intelligence. Her writing is so exceptional, I wanted to reach into her book and strangle Scott Rogers myself! And I always appreciate photos in true crime books, these are very good. All said, this is a great read, and I am already looking forward to her next book.

While the subject matter of this book is tough, the stories of the heroic, surviving victims is inspiring. The authors of this book conducted impeccable research and the story they were able to uncover, document and prove is nothing short of stunning.

Many prominent Baton Rouge people were completely fooled by a sociopath named Scott Rogers. Scott self-promoted himself, lied, manipulated, played people into making them believe he was important and benevolent all the while raping young boys, having affairs with men and running a sex-trade operation in Malaysia. A lesson to everyone to draw back the curtain and peer into the lives of people who try so hard to act like they are so caring about the community and children. Scott opened a church while he was raping the boys, running the sex-trade operation, drinking and running up debts at the local casino's while lying to keep up the whole façade. Rannah does a great job of telling the story and did her research on this horrible person named Scott Rogers.

I knew the story but always found telling anyone about it difficult. Rannah Gray reminds me of the quintessential Southern porch story teller, gifted with an art and craft that rewards readers with intricate detail while holding all of the threads together. Congratulations and thanks for sticking it out to bring the tragedy and heroism to the page.

Impressive! As a university professor, I appreciate the thorough and extensive primary research conducted both internationally and stateside, as well as the quality of the case-based approach provided. I applaud the legal and ethical protocols followed to protect the identities of the eight known adult victims of Roger’s child sexual abuse and their families. With both undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Manship School of Journalism at Louisiana State University, Gray's book is an exemplary work and a must-read for current and aspiring journalists. It is concisely written, beautifully edited and executed, well researched, and a true contribution to both scholarship and reader engagement that fosters critical thinking and meaningful dialogue. My highest recommendation for parents, child advocates, social workers, and professionals in criminal justice and law enforcement.

This is a powerful book, powerfully delivered. It puts you in the mind of a child predator. It makes you wonder what you would do if you found out someone you know secretly molests little children. This is a story about what one courageous person did... it ends in a murder-suicide... you can see it coming... I finished the book in a day and a half... I read and read until I was sure he was dead. I would recommend this book to anyone who cares about protecting children...

A Compelling Account of Justice Delayed but not Denied!This book is an inspiring true story of how, through perseverance and strength, individuals can navigate the spectrum of abuse, moving from victim, to survivor, to hero. Three cheers for the Boys of Bury! Ethan, Gray, and an army of brave survivors have set Baton Rouge ablaze. This is a definitive call to action for acute improvements and enlightened leadership in child services, and informed discussion on policy changes that will protect our children.

An absolute page-turner! I liked the way Gray leveraged her first-hand involvement throughout the investigation and her direct access to the key actors in telling this true-life story of how Scott Rogers led a very public double-life, first in England and then in the United States. A fascinating read. Highly-recommended, in particular, for those interested in the fight against sexual predators and the public policies necessary to win that fight.

Compelling book detailing the pedophilic activities of Scott Rodgers, also is edifying on the subject of pedophilia. this is all written and unfolds in the small microcosm of Baton Rouge with the delicate task of managing the personalities and working with the many law agencies to get justice for the victims.

This is an excellent book; I could not put it down! I usually read popular thriller fiction, and this reads like an international thriller--except it's true. This astonishing story is so interesting and frightening! It will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Fantastic read! This book sheds light on the dark underworld of a predator. It informs and entertains. It is a must read for all. We must educate ourselves to keep any other monsters from harming innocent children.

Stunning portrayal of an evil, manipulative monster who left a trail of damaged young men and children in his wake all the while befriending community leaders, business owners and high level local police, Sheriff's and State Police officials. Rannah Gray has written a compelling page turner I could not put down. There is much detail in the book but I'm left with a lot of questions though so hopefully there will be more to this story. Buy this book and learn how an evil child predator could be in your midst and learn about how the courage of his victims led to the end of his ability to harm any more children